Barbados Vs. Turks & Caicos Vs. Grand Cayman
 

My fiancee and I are planning a mini honeymoon the first week of July, 5 days in one of the following Barbados Vs. Turks & Caicos Vs. Grand Cayman. We have not been to either one. I heard July weather could be hit or miss with Barbados so that's why I threw in T&C and GC. We're looking for excursions, history, and relaxation. If we stayed in barbados we would stay in the Crane Resort. I understand it's 30 minutes away from the center of town...but maybe that's not such a bad thing. (Any experience swimming in crane beach?) Help!? Which place is best?

More later, but I think it could be hit or miss on any of the islands in July. Of these three, Turks has a rep for being one of the driest islands in the Caribbean. You could also look at Aruba, though that it is way more commercial than either Turks or Barbados.

the crane is very nice but not on a good beach for swimming and a good distance from well everything. it is on the east (atlantic) side of the island while most resorts & all the good beaches are on the west (caribbean) side.
barbados is fairly lush while t&c & gc are flat & arid.
much more to do on barbados than turks or gc.
frankly with such a short time frame i'd go where ever you can fly to nonstop in the shortest amount of time from your home airport.
july is generally before hurricane season gets going so i wouldn't worry to much about that.
tell us where you're flying from and what your budget is for more useful info.
fyi most to do's on turks are water oriented. gc has a bit more to do & is busier than turks.

T&C and Grand Cayman are not pretty islands. Most if not all activities will be spent on the beach or in the water. I personally prefer T&C as the beach and water is nice IMO.

Barbados is a prettier island for sure but unless you can fly directly there, it will be a long trip.

But the beaches in T&C blow away any from Barbados! (The enterior is flat and scrubby)

I think Barbados is much farther than others for only 5 days, that really gives you 3 days there.

T&C and Caymans are much closer, max your time.

Barbados has more history, more "culture" more shopping, vendors on beaches, cruiseshippers, it's a big island! Crane is lovely, but far removed from everything. Bottom Bay is close by, while not best swimming it sure is photogenic.

Caymans has better shopping, many activities, pretty beaches,

T&C has some of the best beaches in the world, will spoil you for others. No vendors on beach. Gorgeous ultra romantic restaurant settings.

You're time is so short, and after a wedding you'll want to relax, so I say T&C.

We're flying from NYC so barbados direct will cost around $350 per person which isn't bad.

I don't mind staying far away because we can cab it or rent a car for the day the problem is all the excursions I'm looking up pretty much are in bridgetown.

Turks is three hours from JFK on Jet Blue. I think Barbados is at least 1.5 hours longer. And the beaches (Grace Bay!) in Turks are much better than anything I remember in Barbardos.

is there a reason you wish to stay at the crane? there are some very nice hotels/resorts on the west coast that would be so much more convenient.

There is no reason to stay at the Crane. I don't think you can swim at that beach. When in Barbados you need to stay on the west coast if you want to swim. South and south west beaches are rough. If you rent a car you will not need to take excursions that start in Bridgetown. You don't need organised excursions to see the sights in Barbados.

I spent a day on the beach where the Crane resort was located. This was during a cruise ship stay. It was a beautiful property as I recall. Just breathtaking. We did swim at a beach. I guess it depends on your priorities. If the beach and swimming is high on your list then I would go to Turks and Caicos. We did spend a week there on Grace Bay. At that time there was little else to do there and beaching it was a about it unless that has changed. It is a dry scruffy island, but the water is gorgeous! If you want relaxation then T&C is certainly a front runner as I saw very little else to do there. With after a wedding that might be well in order for yourselves. I found Barbados to be more interesting.

We're looking for excursions, history, and relaxation<<<

Ive been to all 3, my favorite is TCI for relaxation but Barbados is a close 2nd. Barbados has more of what you are looking for though, with more diverse excursions and history. The pirate excursion is best on TCI, Island Safari on Barbados

Ok thanks everybody. Maybe the hilton is best to stay at then.

Also - It's $900 to go to T&C when barbados is only $400 non-stop

I personally would choose Barbados. T&C is horribly overbuilt.

Horribly overbuilt? When compared to Barbados? What did you buy from the vendors there?

;-)

Wow, I have to agree with Blamona! Just visited again in January. There are whole stretches of beach with nothing on them- no people, no hotels, etc. Some mornings I was the only person on the beach in front of my hotel!

Surely Grace Bay is overbuilt.

Alisa, when was the last time there? It's so not overbuilt, especially compared to places like Barbados.

what's your definition of overbuilt?

There are many stretches of beach with no one on them, yes in Grace Bay. Only Beaches Resort is overbuilt, and that's less than a mile of 12 miles of beaches.

AND compared to other main islands, it's downright desolete.

Barbados feels like New York city when you compare, cruise ships, many hotels, many locals, big island.

And Grace Bay blows away any beach in Barbados, including the photogenic Bottom Bay.

Normally I don't feel the need to defend, but "overbuilt" is way off......

I have been to all three. It depends what you are looking for. 5 mile beach on the west side of grand cayman, the northwestern beach of Barbados, and grace bay on providenciales are all screen saver beaches. Absolutely beautiful. For diving, all are good but cayman is the best. In my opinion the diving is the only thing that makes cayman worth being as expensive as it is. Otherwise it is a small flat hot spit of dirt. Cayman dollar is strong so breakfast for two is $50 lunch $100 and dinner more than that. Alcohol is extremely expnsive on cayman and Provo even in the grocery store. Like $70 for a case of beer. I think we paid about 30 for a bottle of wine that would be 8 in an Atlanta convenience store. I thought Provo felt a little bigger with more diverse affordable dining options. Some good snorkel sail excursions etc.. Like cayman, the good beach in Provo is only 10 mins from airport. Diving in Provo is good but it is at least a 40 min boat ride over to west Caicos to dive. Unlike cayman and Barbados where you are right off the beach. If you go to Barbados I highly recommend the northwest side. It is at least 45 mins from airport. That is a great beach. There are some good restaraunts like "the cliffs". Locals are friendly. Not many Americans. Mostly Brits vacation there. That time of year is their slow season so you might get a place for a couple hundred a night that would be 1000 a night in winter. It is very mellow that time of year. Resorts only half full etc. Barbados is the only one of the three that has a decent golf course if you care about that. All three are probably the safest you ever feel in Caribbean off the resort. I took public transport at all of them. Feel free to ask anymore questions. I really feel at any of these three your hotel choice will be more important than your island choice. All three have great spots